In the lead-up to war, various reasons were put forward to justify the invasion of Iraq. The Government argued that Saddam Hussein needed to be ousted because he was a dangerous dictator who supported terrorism and allegedly possessed weapons of mass destruction. The war was just because the Iraqi people would be liberated, establishing a bridgehead for democracy in the Middle East. Critics rejected these arguments, claiming that the primary cause was a struggle for control of the world's oil supply. Cartoonists cast a sceptical eye over the case for war.
